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Gym Rat: Fusion for spinners

The Zone 8 Ride class packs a lot into an hour, with pedalling sessions interspersed with strength training using dumbbells, bands and core balls. (Ian Willms for the TORONTO STAR)

The Zone 8 Ride class packs a lot into an hour, with pedalling sessions interspersed with strength training using dumbbells, bands and core balls. (Ian Willms for the Toronto Star)

Class: Zone 8 Ride

Time: Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., 64-minute class

Cost: $20

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Instructors: Nadia Moldaver and Jill Saltzman

Music: Pop mix from the ’80s to now.

Volume: Loud but not aggressive.

Intensity: High, but intervals provide lots of breaks.

Amenities: No lockers — clients bring bags into class. One shower in massage room, may not always be available. Towels, products and hair dryer provided. Yoga mats for rent.

Ambience: With polished wood floors, lots of natural light and open storage, it feels more like a yoga studio than a spinning gym.

Who goes there: Nearby residents, mostly women.

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Who the class is for: Spin enthusiasts looking to shake things up.

Grade: B+

Fusion workouts, like fusion restaurants, can be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes the combination makes sense and you end up with something wonderful and exciting; sometimes it’s like trying to jam together pieces from different puzzles.

I tend to stay away from the more unorthodox blends, like piloxing (that’s Pilates and boxing) and hip-hop yoga, though they’ve proved extremely popular in some markets. To me, they’re a little like wine coolers: a product aimed at those who don’t like the original, unadulterated version.

At the same time, I like classes that mix cardio and strength training, particularly when they’re woven together in circuits. Switching back and forth keeps both muscles and mind engaged, a win-win situation.

That’s what drew me to Spynga, a studio on the edge of Hillcrest that specializes in spinning fusion classes. Their main draw is a spinning and yoga hybrid, but they also offer a variety of spinning and strength or core classes.

A Tuesday mid-morning class brings in about a dozen women, most of them equipped with spinning shoes, though the studio says running or gym sneakers are fine.

The Zone 8 Ride class is broken into eight- and 16-minute segments either on the bike or on the floor. The order and focus of each interval stays the same, but the drills and moves change from class to class, says Nadia Moldaver, who leads the spinning segments.

We start with eight minutes on the bike to warm up, a series of sprints with minimal resistance. To get us prepped for the resistance work to come, Moldaver has us do push-up-style moves on the handlebars while we pedal.

Two songs later, we switch to the floor, where Jill Saltzman, the other instructor, has laid out a range of props, from dumbbells and resistance bands to weighted core balls. The first strength interval focuses on the upper body. We perform two circuits of standing shoulder and arm exercises with dumbbells, then move on to push-ups and reverse flies using the bands.

When it comes to equipment, “I try to incorporate everything,” but bands are a favourite, Saltzman says in an email a few days after class.

She sets a fast pace, keeping our heart rates up.

Saltzman is tough, playfully barking at us to push through when we falter. Meanwhile, Moldaver plays the good cop, always reminding us that we can ease off on the resistance if necessary.

We hop back on the bike for 16 minutes, starting with jumps and moving into a long seated climb, followed by a descent out of the saddle.

Then it’s back to the floor for eight minutes of core work. We twist using a weighted ball for resistance; later, we use it as a base for planks. Saltzman throws in crunches and a series of stability moves.

The third and last bike segment turns out to be the most challenging. Moldaver calls it “creative sequencing” — lots of lifts, jumps and sprints meant to engage our core.

We end class with a leg workout. Saltzman tells the regulars to remove their spinning shoes, which are too stiff for this kind of exercise. She leads us through squats and several mat moves that target the hamstrings and inner and outer thighs.

After working the quads and glutes on the bike, Saltzman says, “I like to focus on smaller muscles.”

It’s that kind of attention to detail, to balance, that makes the combination work. And it’s only to be expected from a studio devoted to splicing together different disciplines.

At the same time, one major detail seems to have been overlooked: showers. There’s only one for the entire studio, and it’s in the massage room, so it’s off-limits during appointments.

Spynga staff say their members go home to clean up after class, but even so, I had to wait 15 minutes for my turn, a huge hassle for anyone in a rush.

VERDICT: A balanced, engaging class that packs a lot into slightly more than an hour. But prepare to wait for a shower or leave sweaty.

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